RUCK STEADY
Mako insists Sarries are sticking together after rows over brother Billy’s show of support for homophobe Folau and accusations of flouting salary rules
MAKO VUNIPOLA says adversity has given Saracens the strength to win a third European Cup in four years.
The England prop has seen the Londoners accused of flouting salary-cap regulations and brother Billy reprimanded by club and country for showing support of homophobic comments made by fallen Aussie star Israel Folau.
Ahead of tomorrow’s Champions Cup Final in Newcastle, Mako admits there has been “a lot” to deal with but says the players have tackled it by pulling together.
He said: “We each have our beliefs. But we are rugby players and we are a team and if we want to win a European Cup we can’t do it being apart. We have to be together. We spoke about this, addressed it, gave ourselves the choice that either we use the adversity to become tighter or we split apart and become individuals.
“Our semi-final performance against Munster showed the answer we came up with.”
That day Saracens swatted aside the two-time tournament winners, weathering a storm of jeers and cat calls directed at Billy Vunipola. The more the abuse grew the stronger they became – a fact not lost on tomorrow’s opponents Leinster.
Behind the collective show of defiance have been testing times for the Vunipolas over Billy’s social media declaration that “man was made for woman to procreate, that was the goal, no?” Also with suggestions, strongly rejected, their joint company, which has involvement from Saracens owner Nigel Wray, is part of a salary cap-busting initiative by the club. Mako said:
“It’s hard when you have people pointing fingers, especially when your family read things and don’t really understand what’s going on. “What was most disappointing was people thinking of VunProp Ltd as cheating and nothing else. Rugby is a short career and you have to think about what happens afterwards. “I’m comfortable everything is above board. We’ve spoken to the authorities and given them all the information we have.”
The business of Billy and his controversial beliefs will not go away while the offending post remains on his Instagram page. Mako admitted: “We sat down as family and talked about it. It’s Billy’s choice to make. He has to understand the consequences. I think he now does.”
In Australia there are reports of disunity within the Wallabies team over Folau with some allegedly reluctant to play with him and others feeling their religion is under attack.
Mako insists that will not be a problem for Saracens or England, but added: “You have to be careful with what you say.”
Saracens have never beaten Leinster in Europe, losing all three contests, and the Dublin outfit are 80 minutes from making history with a fifth title.
But the ruthless way in which they beat Munster, and Glasgow before them, has caused concern across the Irish Sea.
“It is going to require a lot more than our previous finals,” said Mako. “But we’re in a much better place than last year.”